scandal

Etymology

From Middle French scandale (“indignation caused by misconduct or defamatory speech”), from Ecclesiastical Latin scandalum (“that on which one trips, cause of offense”, literally “stumbling block”), from Ancient Greek σκάνδαλον (skándalon, “a trap laid for an enemy, a cause of moral stumbling”), from Proto-Indo-European *skand- (“to jump”). Cognate with Latin scandō (“to climb”). First attested from Old Northern French escandle, but the modern word is a reborrowing. Doublet, via Old French esclandre, of slander. Sense evolution from "cause of stumbling, that which causes one to sin, stumbling block" to "discredit to reputation, that which brings shame, thing of disgrace" is possibly due to early influence from other similar sounding words for infamy and disgrace (compare Old English scand (“ignominity, scandal, disgraceful thing”), Old High German scanda (“ignominy, disgrace”), Gothic 𐍃𐌺𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌰 (skanda, “shame, disgrace”)). See shand, shend, shonda.

noun

1. An incident or event that disgraces or damages the reputation of the persons or organization involved.
   Their affair was reported as a scandal by most tabloids.
   Well, yes, a couple of leaks are all very well, but it takes more than that... A big scandal perhaps. A political scandal. Or a scandal about something people really understand: Sex... or money. 1990, House of Cards, season 1, episode 1
   But electric vehicles and the batteries that made them run became ensnared in corporate scandals, fraud, and monopolistic corruption that shook the confidence of the nation and inspired automotive upstarts. 2006, Edwin Black, chapter 1, in Internal Combustion
2. Damage to one's reputation.
   The incident brought considerable scandal to his family.
3. Widespread moral outrage, indignation, as over an offence to decency.
   When their behaviour was made public it caused a great scandal.
4. (theology) Religious discredit; an act or behaviour which brings a religion into discredit.
5. (theology) Something which hinders acceptance of religious ideas or behaviour; a stumbling-block or offense.
6. Defamatory talk; gossip, slander.
   According to village scandal, they weren't even married.
   Scandal at Barchester affirmed that had it not been for the beauty of his daughter, Mr. Harding would have remained a minor canon; but here probably Scandal lied, as she so often does; for even as a minor canon no one had been more popular among his reverend brethren in the close, than Mr. Harding; and Scandal, before she had reprobated Mr. Harding for being made precentor by his friend the bishop, had loudly blamed the bishop for having so long omitted to do something for his friend Mr. Harding. 1855, Anthony Trollope, “chapter 1”, in The Warden

verb

1. (obsolete) To treat opprobriously; to defame; to slander.
2. (obsolete) To scandalize; to offend.
   A propensity to scandal may partly proceed from an inability to distinguish the proper objects of censure 1855, Robert Potts, Liber Cantabrigiensis